I am an avid fan of the bootleg, although officially speaking I may or may not own any bootleg DVD's of any copywritten content... With the near final cut of WOLVERINE out there so fervently, what about other bootlegs of the ages? Usually going to comic book or sci fi conventions, some guy(s) have a booth set up and they sell DVD-R media of hard to find or otherwise unofficial copies of movies, shorts, TV shows, and other similar media of interest to the fan boys.

I've got a VHS of mediocre quality of the abortion known as the STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL. I heard some yahoo actually digitally restored this garbage himself and it looks amazing. I would only want the animated segment with all the original voices, but they can keep all the Mark Hamill eyeliner moments & Carrie Fisher singing in the vault.

I just saw for the first time, the assembly cut of THIS IS SPINAL TAP at over 4 hours long. This didn't even have the interviews from the band about their history and album covers in the final cut of the film explaining what happened to most of their original drummers. I had heard of bands and rock stars like Sting and Def Leppard having VHS copies of this edit and playing them constantly on tour buses in the 1980's and early 1990's. I thought it was mythical, but it ain't and I've seen it mine own self. I read someone review this and said the tour of Japan was 40+ minutes of that cut, but my copy ended there. Anyone seen this footage?

I'm due to see the assembly of APOCALYPSE NOW that is similarly 4 hours long. Since I've seen the 2 other cuts, this should be interesting....anyone seen it? Opinions?

I also obtained an NTSC dub of the PAL originated EDGE OF BLADE RUNNER documentary that was NOT included in the 5 DVD sets of BLADE RUNNER. This was produced in the UK and was the definitive BEHIND THE SCENES look at the movie until the new documentaries surpassed it. There is still plenty of material and interviews that make this a gem.

What other cinema legends exist in the bootleg world?

What are your favorite bootleg, unofficial releases?* This is in no way an endorsement of copyright violation, but merely a discussion about the topic..

There was a teaser One sheer for Captain America in cinemas here, but I don't think it ever got a theatrical release. I saw a bootleg VHS of it years ago and it SUCKED ASS, but it was a Captain America movie in live action. I think it might have actually gotten a broadcast in the U.S..... I just can't remember clearly.

Supposedly, Captain America showed in some Spanish-language cinemas in NYC, one or two, and was dumped in another market or two briefly. But that was all. I rented it when it hit videotape and eventually recorded it from cable.

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." -- Noam Chomsky

I have a bootleg copy of Star Wars, Episode III, that I got 2 weeks after the theatrical release of the film. I also bought the DVD when it was released, to ease my guilty conscience. I swear the bootleg copy (made by a guy at my work) has some extra footage in it. It is actually pretty decent. It has the time running across the top, though, but it is widescreen. I think it was copied from a screener DVD.